Tea Kettle

A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is typically a metal pot specialized for boiling water over a heat source. Tea kettles generally include a lid, spout, and handle, though tea kettles are also a small kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained manner. Kettles can be heated either by placing them on a stove or by their own internal electric heating element in the appliance variants.

Electric kettles were introduced in the late 19th century as an alternative to stovetop kettles. These electric kettles were first sold by Crompton and Co., a company based in the United Kingdom. The first electric kettles included heating elements that could not be immersed in water, and it was not until 1922 that an electric kettle design allowed a heating element to be immersed. Immersing the heating element resulted in electric kettles becoming much more efficient than stovetop kettles. The first fully automatic kettle was developed in 1955 and included a thermostat that would flex as the water came to a boil, thereby cutting off the current to the heating element.

In countries with 200-240-volt outlets, electric kettles are commonly used to boil water without using a stovetop. The kettle’s heating element is usually fully enclosed with a power rating ranging between two and three kiloWatts. In most modern tea kettles, once the water has reached its boiling point, the device automatically deactivates to prevent the water from evaporating away and damaging the kettle’s heating element.

• Wikipedia: Kettle
• Wikipedia: Electric Kettle
• Electric Kettle History